Sanofi shares sink on lower profit outlook and consumer unit split

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Shares in Sanofi fell 15 per cent on Friday after the French pharmaceutical group announced a lower profit outlook and a spinout of its consumer care unit as it seeks to focus investment in drug research.

Sanofi reaffirmed its earnings per share guidance this year but projected a decline in the low-single digits in 2024 partly due to increased R&D investment. There would be a “strong rebound” in 2025, Sanofi said. It confirmed longer-term goals of generating €22bn in sales in immunology and more than €10bn from vaccines by 2030.

Sanofi said a split of the consumer unit could take place as early as the end of next year, most likely through a listing in Paris. Sanofi’s consumer care unit, which produces over-the-counter pain management and allergy medications such as Doliprane and Allegra, accounts for just over a tenth of Sanofi’s total sales.

“The timing is driven by the desire to maximise value creation and reward Sanofi shareholders,” the group said in a statement.

Shares in the Paris-based company were briefly suspended after market opening, declining to €85 a share and a market value of €110bn.

The move to spin out the consumer division comes four years after chief executive Paul Hudson joined the drugmaker. Shortly after taking the helm the British executive said he would focus on speciality medicines for cancer and rare diseases, moving it away from the mass-market products that had been its core franchise. Sanofi has since restructured the consumer division to be a standalone business within the company.

Sanofi shares have gained about 24 per cent since Hudson was appointed, roughly in line with the growth of the CAC 40 index of blue-chip French companies. Rival AstraZeneca’s shares have gained 40 per cent in the same period, while Pfizer and GSK have both fallen by 9 and 13 per cent respectively.

Other drug companies have looked to part with their consumer health businesses in recent years. Johnson & Johnson spun off consumer health unit Kenvue this year while GSK and Pfizer combined their consumer businesses to create Haleon in 2019.

Sanofi’s sales fell 4.1 per cent on a reported basis to €11.96bn in the third quarter, the company said, pulled down by negative exchange rate effects. Operating income dropped 10.4 per cent to €4bn in the period, slightly below consensus estimates published on its website. 

The company on Friday said it planned to invest close to €7bn on R&D this year, up from about €5.5bn in 2020, with significant increases planned for as soon as 2024, though no specific figure was provided.

“We said that when we earn the right to invest more in R&D, we would . . . We’re doubling down on our science and innovation where we can make the biggest difference for patients,” Hudson said.